BEST PICTURE
“The Artist,” Thomas Langmann, producer
“The Descendants,” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, producers
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” Scott Rudin, producer
“The Help,” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, producers
“Hugo,” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, producers
“Midnight in Paris,” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, producers
“Moneyball,” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, producers
“The Tree of Life,” Nominees to be determined
“War Horse,” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, producers

LEAD ACTOR
Demián Bichir, “A Better Life”
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Gary Oldman, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy “
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”

LEAD ACTRESS
Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, “My Week with Marilyn”
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte, “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Max von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Bérénice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
“The Descendants,” Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Hugo,” John Logan
“The Ides of March,” George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
“Moneyball,” Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
“The Artist,” Michel Hazanavicius
“Bridesmaids,” Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
“Margin Call,” J.C. Chandor
“Midnight in Paris,” Woody Allen
“A Separation,” Asghar Farhadi

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“A Cat in Paris,” Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
“Chico & Rita,” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
“Kung Fu Panda 2,” Jennifer Yuh Nelson
“Puss in Boots,” Chris Miller
“Rango,” Gore Verbinski

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Bullhead,” Belgium
“Footnote,” Israel
“In Darkness,” Poland
“Monsieur Lazhar,” Canada
“A Separation,” Iran

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
“Hell and Back Again,” Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front,” Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory,” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Pina,” Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
“Undefeated,” TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement,” Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
“God Is the Bigger Elvis,” Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
“Incident in New Baghdad,” James Spione
“Saving Face,” Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom,” Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
“Dimanche/Sunday,” Patrick Doyon
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
“La Luna,” Enrico Casarosa
“A Morning Stroll,” Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
“Wild Life,” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
“Pentecost,” Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
“Raju,” Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
“The Shore,” Terry George and Oorlagh George
“Time Freak,” Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
“Tuba Atlantic,” Hallvar Witzø

ART DIRECTION
“The Artist,” production design: Laurence Bennett; set decoration: Robert Gould
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” production design: Stuart Craig; set decoration: Stephenie McMillan
“Hugo,” production design: Dante Ferretti; set decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“Midnight in Paris,” production design: Anne Seibel; set decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
“War Horse,” production design: Rick Carter; set decoration: Lee Sandales

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Guillaume Schiffman, “The Artist”
Jeff Cronenweth, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Robert Richardson, “Hugo”
Emmanuel Lubezki, “The Tree of Life”
Janusz Kaminski, “War Horse”

COSTUME DESIGN
Lisy Christl, “Anonymous”
Mark Bridges, “The Artist”
Sandy Powell, “Hugo”
Michael O’Connor, “Jane Eyre”
Arianne Phillips, “W.E”

FILM EDITING
“The Artist,” Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
“The Descendants,” Kevin Tent
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“Hugo” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Moneyball,” Christopher Tellefsen

MAKEUP
“Albert Nobbs,” Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
“The Iron Lady,” Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
“The Adventures of Tintin,” John Williams
“The Artist,” Ludovic Bource
“Hugo,” Howard Shore
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” Alberto Iglesias
“War Horse” John Williams

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets,” music and lyrics by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio,” from “Rio,” music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown; lyrics by Siedah Garrett

SOUND EDITING
“Drive,” Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” Ren Klyce
“Hugo,” Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
“War Horse,” Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

SOUND MIXING
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
“Hugo,” Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
“Moneyball,” Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
“War Horse,” Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

VISUAL EFFECTS
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
“Hugo,” Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
“Real Steel,” Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

He’ll communicate with you almost any way you can think, starting with the obvious Facebook and email. He’ll also use the iPhone and iTunes for podcasting. Checked out his YouTube access yet?

If you want to read his extensive list of articles about screenwriting, then visit him here:

http://www.filmmakingstuff.com/write-your-screenplay/

Apart from providing free information, he’ll sell you almost anything you need to make a movie.

The new rates from 2011 can be found on the WGA’s website in PODF format; fresh for you to download.

http://www.wga.org/uploadedFiles/writers_resources/contracts/MOA2011.pdf

If you’re writing a treatment, a screenplay or a television show, your pay went up this year if you’re working on a WAG project, It you weren’t on a WGA show, then it’s down to your negotiating skills.

Anything new from the Beatles is a rare commodity, so a film about George Harrison is especially welcome.

HBO has acquired the North American TV rights to Martin Scorsese’s GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD from Grove Street Pictures. The film was produced by Scorsese (through his Sikelia Productions banner), Olivia Harrison (through her Grove Street Pictures banner) and Nigel Sinclair (through Exclusive’s documentary label, Spitfire Pictures). Margaret Bodde served as executive producer on the film, which was edited by David Tedeschi, who previously worked with Scorsese, Bodde and Sinclair on “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan,” and with Scorsese and Bodde on “Public Speaking.” Tedeschi also edited Scorsese’s Rolling Stones concert film “Shine a Light.” The documentary will debut in two parts – on Oct. 5 and 6, 2011 – exclusively on HBO.

GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD focuses the imaginative and inspired eye of one of cinema’s most preeminent filmmakers on one of the world’s most influential men. The film takes viewers on the musical and spiritual voyage that was George Harrison’s life, much of it told in his own words. The result is deeply moving and touches each viewer in unique and individual ways.

Academy Award®-winning director Martin Scorsese traces Harrison’s life from his musical beginnings in Liverpool through his life as a musician, a seeker, a philanthropist and a filmmaker, weaving together interviews with Harrison and his closest friends, performances, home movies and photographs. Much of the material in the film has never been seen or heard before. The result is a rare glimpse into the mind and soul of one of the most talented artists of his generation and a profoundly intimate and affecting work of cinema.

The film includes interviews with Eric Clapton, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, George Martin, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Tom Petty, Phil Spector, Ringo Starr and Jackie Stewart. They speak honestly and frankly about George’s many talents and contradictions.

“When Martin Scorsese brings a project to HBO, we all know it is going to be very special, and he has added to that body of work with this monumental film on George Harrison,” says Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. “From rock‘n’roll icon to moviemaker, to spiritual seeker and humanitarian, George Harrison was a true renaissance man. This amazing film will illuminate every aspect of Harrison’s remarkable, multifaceted life.”

Comments Scorsese, “Like so many millions of people, I first came to know George through the music, which was the soundtrack of our world. The Beatles’ music, those beautifully lyrical guitar breaks and solos, those unforgettable songs of George’s like ‘I Me Mine’ or ‘If I Needed Someone,’ and the images, in magazines, on album covers, the TV appearances, the newsreel footage, the Richard Lester movies; and then there was the world after the Beatles, when George and his music seemed to open up and flower. I will never forget the first time I heard ‘All Things Must Pass,’ the overwhelming feeling of taking in that all glorious music for the first time. It was like walking into a cathedral. George was making spiritually awake music – we all heard and felt it – and I think that was the reason that he came to occupy a very special place in our lives. So when I was offered the chance to make this picture, I jumped at it. Spending time with Olivia, interviewing so many of George’s closest friends, reviewing all that footage, some of it never seen before, and listening to all of that magnificent music – it was a joy, and an experience I’ll always treasure.

Notes Olivia Harrison, “Martin Scorsese’s intuition towards George was evident the first time we met to discuss this project. He sensed what George was about: his music, his strong beliefs, his art, his place in the Beatles’ story and his extraordinary life afterwards. Marty’s wonderful film has found all of that and more.

“I always hoped HBO would be our North American partners because of their respect for artistry. I am doubly happy to be working with their excellent team.”

“This film was an extraordinary journey for all involved and it has been a sheer pleasure working with Martin Scorsese and Olivia Harrison to bring the amazing story and legacy of George Harrison to life. We have found the perfect partner in HBO Documentary Films and are proud to have them on board to bring this incredible film to North American audiences,” adds Nigel Sinclair.

Exclusive Films International, the international sales and marketing arm of Exclusive, represents worldwide rights, excluding the U.S. Scott Pascucci serves as executive producer for Grove Street and is coordinating all aspects of the film’s distribution for Grove Street.

Additionally, in late September, Abrams Books will publish Olivia Harrison’s “George Harrison: Living in the Material World,” a personal archive of photographs, letters, diaries and memorabilia from George’s life that reveals the arc of his life, from his guitar-obsessed boyhood in Liverpool, to the astonishment of the Beatles years, to his days as an independent musician and bohemian squire. The book release is intended to coincide with the release of Scorsese’s film.

The King’s Speech was rewarded as the best movie of the year for 2010 in the Academy’s awards on 27th February, 2011. As well as best film, Colin Firth took best actor, Tom Hooper for best director and best screenplay for the excellent writing from David Seidler. It was clearly the best film to reach the big screen this past year and didn’t have any real clear competition.

To read the screenplay you can go here:

Perhaps the best speech of the evening came from director Tom Hooper who thanked his mother (like everyone who has one does,) but mentioned that she found him the play which he turned into a film.

Melissa Leo earned herself a high number of YouTube hits after her seven letter curse. Go Google it if you really want to know what word starts with ‘F.’

Christian Bale (another Brit) won best supporting actor for his version of ‘The Fighter.’

Natalie Portman won the best actress award. Her stand out performance in Black Swan probably didn’t surprise anyone. Her speech was positively glowing and genuine.

Another Brit win was for Inception for Sound Editing – a British win for Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb; the movie also won Sound Mixing, Visual Effects and Cinematography.

One of the evening’s highlights was seeing 94 year old actor Kirk Douglas in fine form. He came on stage to a standing ovation when he presented the best supporting actress award.

The Social Network won for Editing, Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay.

The disappointment was the night’s general dull feeling. It appeared to lack the glamor and excitement of previous years.

The best film won, but it’s a debate that could rage for years if you felt another deserved the awards your favorites didn’t win. Discuss.

This source of action is often held by movie makers to be the one that loses you money. How can you accurately agree the distributor’s expenses? Obviously the cost of advertising your film is an agreed figure, but when did their new yacht become one of the necessary expenses?

Choosing the right distributor is essential if you’re ever to see a share of your DVD and movie sales. Ask for testimonials and personally check them. There are more stories of distributors who don’t make nay money to pass on to the producer than old wives tales; many will be just tales but some will be completely true.

Michael Moore is currently suing the distributor of his ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ film. We don’t know who is right and who is wrong, but one side says Mr Moore has received $20 million already and he wants another two million. Two million isn’t pocket change. Either it’s due or it’s not.

Shamim Sarif of Enlightenment Productions has problems with her movie ‘I Can’t Think Straight.’ A brilliant movie, but only selling in relatively small number where each and every sale makes a difference to the producer’s living standards. She needs customers to buy direct from her because the distributor isn’t paying her and even sales through Amazon are via that distributor. From her blog today:

We’ve had a pretty rough ride with Regent Releasing, the American distributor for I Can’t Think Straight and The World Unseen. No royalties, no statements, no support for the releases. Well, we’ve known for a while that the banks have taken possession of our US and Canada movie rights

The answer to the problem is to tread carefully. Talk to people who have had good experiences. Know that creative accounting may take your profits away so be sensible about taking up front money because you might not see any more.

FILMANDMOVIEMAKING.COM choices are in bold. If our choice isn’t on the list (how could you Oscar people?) then no selection is in bold. FAMM believes it should be a good year for The King’s Speech and The Gruffalo.

BEST PICTURE

127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
Winter’s Bone
True Grit
The Social Network
Toy Story 3

BEST DIRECTOR

Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan
David O Russell – The Fighter
Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech
David Fincher – The Social Network
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – True Grit

BEST ACTOR

Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
James Franco – 127 Hours
Javier Bardem – Biutiful
Jeff Bridges – True Grit

BEST ACTRESS

Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman – Black Swan
Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale – The Fighter
John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner – The Town

Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams – The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo – The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit
Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Biutiful – Mexico
Dogtooth – Greece
In a Better World – Denmark
Incendies – Canada
Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi) – Algeria

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Mike Leigh – Another Year
Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (screenplay), Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson (story) – The Fighter
Christopher Nolan – Inception
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg – The Kids Are All Right
David Seidler – The King’s Speech

BEST ANIMATION

How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy – 127 Hours
Aaron Sorkin – The Social Network
Michael Arndt – Toy Story 3
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – True Grit
Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini – Winter’s Bone

BEST ART DIRECTION

Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Inception
The King’s Speech
True Grit

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

BEST SOUND MIXING

Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
Salt
True Grit

BEST SOUND EDITING

Inception
Toy Story 3
Tron: Legacy
True Grit
Unstoppable

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Coming Home (from Country Strong) by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
I See the Light (from Tangled) by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater
If I Rise (from 127 Hours) by AR Rahman, Dido and Rollo Armstrong
We Belong Together (from Toy Story 3) by Randy Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

How to Train Your Dragon – John Powell
Inception – Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech – Alexandre Desplat
127 Hours – AR Rahman
The Social Network – Trent Reznor and Atticus

BEST COSTUMES

Alice in Wonderland
I Am Love
The King’s Speech
The Tempest
True Grit

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Gasland
Inside Job
Restrepo
Waste Land

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Killing in the Name
Poster Girl
Strangers No More
Sun Come Up
The Warriors of Qiugang

BEST FILM EDITING

Black Swan
The Fighter P
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Day & Night
The Gruffalo
Let’s Pollute
The Lost Thing
Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

The Confession
The Crush
God of Love
Na Wewe
Wish 143

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2

BEST MAKE-UP

Barney’s Version
The Way Back
The Wolfman

So how did you watch your movies in 2010? Did you go to the theater, buy the DVD, pay to download it to your iPad or just download it to your PC/MAC for free? If you downloaded it, you’re not alone.

This information is from Torrentfreak.com

Most Downloaded Movies on BitTorrent, 2010

This lists the movie, the number of downloads and the box office turnover

1 Avatar 16,580,000 $2,779,551,867
2 Kick-Ass 11,400,000 $96,130,432
3 Inception 9,720,000 $825,408,570
4 Shutter Island 9,490,000 $294,803,014
5 Iron Man 2 8,810,000 $621,751,988
6 Clash of the Titans 8,040,000 $493,214,993
7 Green Zone 7,730,000 $94,875,650
8 Sherlock Holmes 7,160,000 $523,029,864
9 The Hurt Locker 6,850,000 $48,612,915
10 Salt 6,700,000 $175,190,850

Do you feel guilty downloading a movie knowing that the actors and the producer won’t get a penny from your actions: the distributors of the DVD won’t earn from you?

Or do you believe they earn too much already; prices at the Theatre and the DVD shop are too high; you’re being ripped off paying those prices?

Perhaps the movies didn’t come to a ‘cinema near you.’ perhaps you don’t want to or can’t afford to get it second hand from Amazon.

Difficult decisions, difficult world. Those with the money can carry on making movies, but what about those who struggle to break even, yet we rely on them to bring us innovative movies? Should they add a donate button to their websites if you’ve downloaded for free?

Beverly Hills, CA (July 6, 2010) — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition has received 6,304 entries for 2010, including first-time entries from Azerbaijan, Barbados, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cameroon, Uganda and Uruguay. The Academy will award up to five fellowships of $30,000 each in November. This year marks the competition’s 25th anniversary.

The Nicholl Fellowships competition is open to screenwriters who have not earned more than $5,000 writing for film or television. Entry scripts must be feature length and the original work of a sole author or of exactly two collaborative authors. The scripts must have been written originally in English. Adaptations and translated scripts are not eligible.

This year, entries have come from all 50 states in the U.S., as well as from Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Cameroon, Canada, China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Uruguay.

Since the program’s inception in 1985, 113 fellowships have been awarded. Several past Nicholl fellows have gone on to successful screenwriting careers, including Oscar®-nominee Susannah Grant (“The Soloist, “ “Charlotte’s Web” “Erin Brockovich”), Doug Atchison (“Akeelah and the Bee”), Mike Rich (“Radio,” “The Rookie,” “Finding Forrester”), Ehren Kruger (“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “The Ring,” “Arlington Road”) and Andrew Marlowe (“Hollow Man,” “Air Force One,” ABC Television’s “Castle”).

Several other Nicholl fellows have had success in the film industry; to read more about them, visit http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/fellows/notable.html.

Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year. The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.

Football’s World Cup finals are now ready to start; tomorrow to be exact. 32 teams battling out across 64 matches. Eventual winners will probably slide from Spain, Brazil, Germany or Argentina with Serbia the outside favourites. England, Italy, France and Portugal will believe they have a chance to win the world’s most coveted trophy from the world’s major game.

With two or three games most days, plus the re-runs and the endless channels rolling out the ‘experts’ to tell us what we already know, there’s only just time to fit in a quick snack and a beer or two before saying goodnight to the kids.

It’ll be difficult to find a two hour slot to drive the kids to see Shrek 4, or the new dog film, Marmaduke. The games will have to look quite poor if we’re to travel to the drive in to see the up-dated A-team. We should find time for Night and Day, but might have to buy either the DVD later in the year or download when available.

We’ll soon see if Wayne Rooney, young Messi, Ronaldo or Kaka prove themselves to be the best in the world. Who will be the new stars that Sir Alex will just have to buy and send back to Manchester?

Could this be the world cup where an African team or perhaps a team from outside Europe/South America wins through? You just know we’re all waiting to see South Korea v North Korea and Australia v New Zealand. Iran v The USA went off without a hitch way back when, because this is sport and not war, even if it is a matter of life or death.

So now all we have to wait for is football’s World Cup finals of 2014 in Brazil. You can see the parties that will bring. Bring it on.

Also, in case you didn’t notice, it’s Football, not Soccer. Let’s at least call it by its real name when we pass on our expert advice to anyone who will listen.